Delta County Airport

Delta County Airport (IATA: ESC, ICAO: KESC, FAA LID: ESC) is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) southwest of the central business district of Escanaba, a city in Delta County, Michigan, United States. It offers limited commercial service, which is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility. The airport received $1 million from the US Department of Transportation in 2020 as part of the CARES Act to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Facilities and aircraft Delta County Airport covers an area of 944 acres (382 ha) at an elevation of 609.1 feet (186 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: primary runway 10/28 measures 6,498 by 150 feet (1,981 by 46 m), and crosswind runway 1/19 measures 5,016 by 100 feet (1,529 by 30 m). For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2022, the airport had 6,360 aircraft operations, an average of 17 per day: 68% general aviation, 27% air taxi, 5% scheduled commercial, and less than 1% military. In November 2023, there was 1 aircraft based at this airport: 1 ultra-light. The airport operates a fixed-base operator for general aviation use offering fuel, general maintenance, aircraft parking, courtesy and rental cars, and a crew lounge. A Republic F-84F is on display at the airport's entrance. Airlines and destinations Passenger SkyWest Airlines operates flights on behalf of Delta Air Lines in Escanaba. The airport sees daily services both to Detroit and Minneapolis. The airline created controversy when, citing staffing shortages, it operated flights to Detroit as a "tag flight" with a stop in Pellston. These services only lasted one month, and the airline returned to nonstop flights. However, another change was announced in December 2022, when the airline announced plans to operate tag flights between Escanaba and Iron Mountain en route to one of their hubs. Accidents and incidents On November 3, 2015, a Glimn Kitfox 2-3 impacted terrain while attempting a forced landing at Delta County Airport. The aircraft's propeller had stopped rotating inflight, but the engine was still producing enough power to remain in the air. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the aircraft owner's inadequate maintenance and servicing of the propeller gearbox, resulting in oil starvation, gearbox failure, and a subsequent loss of propeller thrust. A contributing failure was the aircraft's low altitude, which made it impossible to reach the runway in time. The private pilot in control, a prospective buyer of the aircraft, received minor injuries. On August 2, 2018, a Gerald Dan Coppock homebuilt experimental aircraft sustained substantial damage during a runway excursion following loss of directional control while landing at Escanaba. The pilot, who was uninjured, reported the aircraft veered left once the tailwheel contacted the runway; both wingtips subsequently contacted the runway surface, and the airplane ground-looped. The right steering cable chain was later found to be broken and hanging out of the tailwheel, but it is undetermined whether the cable break occurred prior to or during the accident sequence. See also List of airports in Michigan References Other sources External links http://flyesc.com/ "Delta County Airport" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 4, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2006. (79.9 KB) at Michigan Airport Directory Aerial image as of April 1999 from USGS The National Map FAA Terminal Procedures for ESC, effective July 9, 2026 Resources for this airport: FAA airport information for ESC AirNav airport information for KESC ASN accident history for ESC FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures